Hillary Copsey: Brave the heat, enjoy variety of summer activities

A few friends have put together a summer to-do list for their families.

My friends' plans and a quick glance through the calendars we publish in this newspaper made me start thinking about what my family should be doing this summer. As easy as it is to hole up in an air-conditioned house for the duration rather than brave the simmering heat, high humidity and daily thunderstorms, staying home means missing out on too many fun opportunities.

Some of them are even inside.

Get sandy

When we bought our house, my husband and I — both from the landlocked Midwest — giddily checked the distance from our driveway to the beach: 7 miles. We'll go all the time, we said.

We don't.

How many of you are the same?

I'm determined to change that this summer. My hope is to get to at least one beach in each Treasure Coast county.

Which beaches are your favorites?

See a (Free) Movie

The Lyric Theatre in Stuart is offering free movies again this summer. Normally, I see this as a date-night option, but looking at the slate of movies for July (www.lyrictheatre.com), I'm thinking my baseball-loving boys would be thrilled to see "The Sandlot" on the big screen (July 21 and 22). We'll follow it with ice cream and a walk along the water to what the boys call the "pirate ship park."

Track a turtle

You can watch a sea turtle lay her eggs on beaches in each of the Treasure Coast counties.

I went last year with the Hobe Sound Nature Center (www.hobesoundnaturecenter.com, 772-546-2067). Seeing a momma turtle at work really is amazing, and even if a turtle doesn't show up, the beach at night is worth the trip.

The turtle treks usually require reservations, so it's best to call early — as in now.

Other places to check: the Environmental Studies Center in Jensen Beach (772-334-4643), the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant (800-334-5483) and Sebastian Inlet State Park (321-984-4852).

Check out books

My 4-year-old and I visited our local library last weekend, picking out armfuls of books to add (much-needed) variety to our bedtime reading.

But books aren't the only reason to visit a library. All of the Treasure Coast library systems offer robust programming in addition to fully-stocked bookshelves and tables of computers. Whether you're looking for a book club or story hour, classes or hobbies groups, any library in your county is likely to have it.